Nergal Dominion (Galactic Century)
The Nergal Dominion is one of the primary factions of Mobile Suit Gundam Alpha. Holding dominion over most of the Regalia Cluster, the state originally existed as the Nergal Republic until one of its leading commanders, Admiral Crux Dogatie, executed a coup de tat and established himself as the Dominus, whereupon the state was reformed as the Nergal Dominion. In modern times, the Dominion is one of the members of the Outer Powers, a military alliance of Outer Rim nations centered around Zeon. As such, it has taken a direct role in the First Galactic War. History The Nergal Republic The Nergal Republic was one of a great many mid-sized interstellar nation states occupying the Outer Rim, with relatively few features that made it stand out. It had begun as a single planetary colony, and gradually expanded to occupy a cluster of stars in the Regalia Cluster. The vast natural resources made available by this expansion made Nergal extremely wealthy, fuelling the development of a sophisticated civil society and a high standard of living for the vast majority of the population. But like a great many of its contemporaries, the Republic was running into problems by the first decades of the Galactic Century. The Republic was fairly democratic, but as with war the sinews of democracy were unlimited money. Election to meaningful office, let alone high office, was impossible without extensive advertising and campaigning, all of which required large amounts of money; whether provided by public donation or by wealthy individuals and groups seeking to buy influence. Over time, Nergal's political system came to be colonised by two particular forces; wealthy and influential individuals, and powerful political factions. This system might have remained stable, but for the simple fact that the Nergalite political elite was far from united. Its factions squabbled for wealth and power, while Nergal's ever-growing wealth caused the elite to grow larger and larger, far beyond the capacity of the government to provide its members with worthwhile jobs. This 'elite overproduction', as it was known on Earth, further destablised the elite; and saw a coarsening of civil society as political factions resorted to ever more extreme rhetoric to build support. As all this went on, wider Nergalite society was also becoming unstable. Educated and ambitious individuals, finding themselves locked out of political office and higher positions in almost all fields, became increasingly rebellious; turning to extreme ideologies for comfort and the hope of power, or else gave up on civil society altogether. The poorer demographics, meanwhile, found themselves increasingly disadvantaged in an economy where an already wealthy elite sought to acquire as many resources and assets as possible, leaving the rest with fewer and fewer means of subsistence, let alone self-improvement. This made them all the more willing to listen to political extremists, who offered simple answers to complex problems, and to vote them into power. As the elite began to notice the danger, they could find only two palatable solutions; territorial expansion to provide more wealth, and patriotic war to distract the public. As the Republic began its final decline, it underwent a paradoxical period of breakneck expansion, grabbing more and more star systems until it had overrun most of the Regalia cluster. Some of these expansions were minor planetary or system-states, with economies that could be incorporated into that of the Republic or outright looted. But many, though offering raw materials and plentiful living space, were uninhabited and underdeveloped; forcing Nergal to expand even more resources in the hope of eventual profit. But so short-sighted had the elite become, that in many cases they preferred to seek out and attack developed planets - even at the cost of war with neighbouring states - than spend time and resources developing those they had. The result was a rising of tensions, and a series of border skirmishes with several of Nergal's neighbours; noticeably Cosmo Babylonia and the Zanscare Consortium. By the G.C. 70s, Cosmo Babylonia had developed into a small but powerful state, built around the individualistic code of Cosmic Aristocracy; while Zanscare was prospering as a constitutional monarchy under the Gattle Dynasty. That both states were basically monarchies was a propaganda opportunity too good for Nergal's elite to miss. Government propagandists portrayed Cosmo Babylonia and Zanscare as brutal, undemocratic tyrannies, while holding up Nergal as the last bastion of democracy and free enterprise in the Outer Rim. In particular, Cosmo Babylonia was lambasted as individualistic and aristocratic, a society that cared nothing for the common people or society in general; while Zanscare was labelled as a nation of dim-witted peasants and lazy dullards. Turanian War Actual war finally broke out in G.C.76, when one of Nergal's border skirmishes with Cosmo Babylonia erupted into outright conflict. The underlying cause was a dispute over a stellar group known as the Turanian Drift, which both sides claimed; though the more immediate cause was a series of political and diplomatic miscalculations by both governments. Nergal was confident of victory; possessing a larger military, a higher population, and a greater proportion of developed planets than Cosmo Babylonia. But Cosmo Babylonia's economy was more highly automated, and its well-trained officers and personnel capable of using their somewhat more advanced equipment to best effect. The Turanian War was, for Nergal, a long, painful, and humiliating one. Lacking the numbers for direct confrontation, or the logistical capacity to support deep offensives into the Regalia cluster, Cosmo Babylonia followed a cautious strategy; using cruiser squadrons in hit-and-run attacks on Nergal fleets and border systems, while unleashing the Crossbone Vanguard to raid deep inside Nergal territory. These raids wrought havoc on Nergal's interstellar commerce, and enraged both the wealthy elite and the general public; the latter finding their already strained living standards worsening. Whole fleets were pulled off the line to chase down the Crossbone Vanguard, while more and more ships were assigned to escort duty; leaving Nergal's forces in the Turanian Drift increasingly strained. Within the drift itself, Nergal launched grand, media-pleasing offensives, seeking to grab and fortify planets before the Cosmo Militia could do likewise. In this it was relatively successful, as the Cosmo Armada could not retaliate without the risk of its squadrons being caught out of position. But Nergal quickly became a victim of its own success, as its offensives needed long, vulnerable supply lines to support them. The Cosmo Armada's cruiser squadrons were quick to take advantage, wreaking havoc on the supply convoys and destroying or capturing countless vital supply ships. Several Nergal fleet commanders called for the offensives to be abandoned and for Nergal forces to retrench on the Nergal side of the drift. But the media lambasted them as cowards, and the government stubbornly refused. Had Nergal been led by a capable and united government, it might still have worn Cosmo Babylonia down by sheer attrition; out-building and out-recruiting it. But short-sightedness, factional infighting, war profiteering, and general incompetence combined to render the government not merely ineffectual, but actually obstructive to the war effort. Desperate to protect itself from a victory-hungry public and populist agitators apt to take advantage, the ruling administration generally tailored its policy to whatever would please the popular press, while ensuring that the economic interests of its members and vital supporters were not inconvenienced. The result was administrative chaos, the lack of an effective strategic plan, and a complete failure to make full use of the Republic's human, industrial, and mineral resources. Over the first two years of the war, Cosmo Babylonia war down Nergal's war fleets, and gradually drove Nergal from the Turanian Drift. But attempts to persuade the Nergal government to surrender failed, and Cosmo Babylonia began to push into the Regalia Cluster; it's target, the Nergal system. The Cosmo Armada wrought havoc on Nergal's core systems, but its success belied the extreme logistical difficulty of this operation; evidenced by the large number of captured Nergalite transports it was forced to use to support its forces. With its economy badly strained, and its people growing war-weary, Cosmo Babylonia yearned for victory, and pushed hard towards Nergal. In so doing, it finally allowed itself to be dragged into what Nergal had always sought, and the Cosmo Armada had thus far avoided; a decisive pitched battle. The Battle of Nergal was a costly but decisive victory for Nergal, forcing the Cosmo Armada to flee back to the Turanian Drift in disarray. The commander of Nergal's Home Guard fleet, a certain Crux Dogatie, was hailed across the suffering Republic as the greatest hero in Nergal's history. Bouyed by this shock victory, the government ordered a full-scale offensive, with the much-feted Dogatie in command. For a few months, it looked as if Nergal might be able to push through to Babylonia and end the war. But once again, the offensive was not adequately supported, and with its supply lines tormented by the Crossbone Vanguard, the Nergal 'Vengeance Fleet' was forced to withdraw. This marked the limit of Nergal's will to fight, and a peace treaty was finally signed in G.C. 82. The terms were relatively lenient, with borders returning to status quo ante bellum, with the exception that the Turanian Drift was now part of Cosmo Babylonia; a concession that many in Nergal regarded as a betrayal. The administration would limp on for two more years as Nergal tried to rebuild. But a dark seed had been sown, and was about to sprout. Nergalian Civil War Formation of the Dominion Galactic War Government and Politics Structure Economics Society and Culture Since its rebirth, the Dominion has existed as one of the largest and most infamous military dictatorships in the galaxy (with Crux reigning as the "Eternal" Dominus through artificial means). Poverty, scarce resources, hardline militarism and the cult of personality surrounding the Dominus are general characteristics of day to day life. The Dominion's continued isolation from the galaxy at large only emphasizes these factors, as very few outsiders are allowed within the Dominion and even less Nergalites have ever escaped to other nations. Military Notes Trivia *The Nergal Dominion is the Galactic Century incarnation of the from . This is emphasized by its name, which borrows from a crater on Ganymede.